US (TX): Largest indoor growing center to be constructed producing cow feed

Grōv Technologies today announced that the Cnossen Dairy of Hereford, TX, has signed a definitive agreement to build a controlled environment feed center to grow fresh High-Density Nutrient (HDN) Superfeed™ year-round. The center will house Grōv Tower Farm technology and produce over 288,000 pounds of feed per day on less than 5% of the water used in conventional farming. These savings will be critical in lessening the impact of drought conditions affecting the Cnossen Dairy and many dairies in West Texas and across the Western U.S.

"We are proud to have people like Jim and Cord Cnossen to showcase the future of sustainable dairy feed," said Steve Lindsley, President of Grōv. "Being able to provide their cows with a highly nutritious consistent feed year-round will reduce the impact of droughts and changing climates and help the Cnossens deliver a more sustainably produced product to consumers."

Cnossen Dairy was started 45 years ago and is owned and operated by Jim Cnossen. The dairy currently milks 11,000 cows and farms over 7,500 acres of cropland. The new Cnossen-Grōv Feed Center will be a key showcase in the region for demonstrating sustainable agricultural technology and will become the largest indoor feed growing facility in the world.

"We are struggling through one of the driest periods on record and need to incorporate new technologies that help us survive these water shortages," said Jim Cnossen, the dairy's owner. "We also believe that feeding fresh Grōv HDN year-round will help improve the overall health, welfare, and productivity of our cows."

Collaborating on the new feed center is Dairy Specialists, a regional dairy supplier, who will provide local service and support for the automation, sensors, and machine learning capabilities of the new towers. Key goals in supporting the Cnossen Feed Center include reduction of labor and carbon emissions as they work towards becoming a Net Zero operation.

"Labor shortages and changing climates have affected most if not all of the dairies we service," said Bill Dyer, CEO of Dairy Specialists. "Our goal is to support our farmers and ranchers with innovative technologies that will ensure sustainability and profitably in the challenging years ahead, and we believe Grōv's technology platform is key to meeting those challenges."

Grōv Technologies will be presenting at the World Dairy Expo, Sept 28th – Oct 2nd, at booth #2414, in Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.